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25
One of the most interesting features of the extant structure was
the ornate wrought iron porches on the east and west faces. It was
noted, however, that these porches did not seem to fit the overall
design of the building. The porch piers were not of uniform size
and appeared to have been fitted into an existing structure rather
than part of an overall design. These piers represented the base
to a rather ornate series of arches that supported the porch which
faced Halifax Street. The porch on the opposite side, the west side,
was austere by comparison.
The investigation of the porch foundations indicated that both
additions had hidden rather impressive architectural features. The
Halifax Street facade had a complicated series of niches that were
nicely finished and obviously for decoration. However, the porch
obscured them. The plainness of the western facade made it a little
more difficult to state firmly that a porch was not originally
present. The door and window moldings were rather plain, but this
might be expected since this was always intended to be the rear
facade of the structure. Once again the foundation remains were the
best evidence. The material used to support the porch was not keyed
into the main foundation. The mortar mix appeared to be slightly
different; but since no samples were taken or laboratory tested,
this must be viewed as strictly visual and subjective evidence.
The soil stratigraphy and the structural evidence indicated a
rather interesting point about the amount of filling that had been
done around the Seaboard Office Building. It would appear that
the entire "basement" level was exposed when the structure was built.
When the current project was begun, there was only approximately
four feet exposed on the Halifax Street facade. The impressive
original facade of the structure was completely obliterated by the
addition of a porch and the accumulation of at least five feet of
fill.
While the examination of aboveground remains might appear to be
a waste of time or at best a rather esoteric pursuit, the exercise
proved extremely valuable. It allowed the field crew to become
accustomed to working together without expending a great deal of
time and energy excavating. It also offered a chance to leam what
might be expected from the buried features. The necessary period
of acclimatization to the site was accomplished quite rapidly.
During the process quite a bit of valuable comparative data was
collected.
The first buried feature investigated was the one uncovered by
the moving contractor (Feature 1 in Figure VIII) . A simple
cleaning of the exposed areas of the feature indicated that the
foundation was of relatively modern construction. The footings
were composed of a mixture of portland cement, sand, and crusher
run stone (see Figure V) . The stone was uniform in quality and
size and appeared machine-prepared. This mix was simply poured

25
One of the most interesting features of the extant structure was
the ornate wrought iron porches on the east and west faces. It was
noted, however, that these porches did not seem to fit the overall
design of the building. The porch piers were not of uniform size
and appeared to have been fitted into an existing structure rather
than part of an overall design. These piers represented the base
to a rather ornate series of arches that supported the porch which
faced Halifax Street. The porch on the opposite side, the west side,
was austere by comparison.
The investigation of the porch foundations indicated that both
additions had hidden rather impressive architectural features. The
Halifax Street facade had a complicated series of niches that were
nicely finished and obviously for decoration. However, the porch
obscured them. The plainness of the western facade made it a little
more difficult to state firmly that a porch was not originally
present. The door and window moldings were rather plain, but this
might be expected since this was always intended to be the rear
facade of the structure. Once again the foundation remains were the
best evidence. The material used to support the porch was not keyed
into the main foundation. The mortar mix appeared to be slightly
different; but since no samples were taken or laboratory tested,
this must be viewed as strictly visual and subjective evidence.
The soil stratigraphy and the structural evidence indicated a
rather interesting point about the amount of filling that had been
done around the Seaboard Office Building. It would appear that
the entire "basement" level was exposed when the structure was built.
When the current project was begun, there was only approximately
four feet exposed on the Halifax Street facade. The impressive
original facade of the structure was completely obliterated by the
addition of a porch and the accumulation of at least five feet of
fill.
While the examination of aboveground remains might appear to be
a waste of time or at best a rather esoteric pursuit, the exercise
proved extremely valuable. It allowed the field crew to become
accustomed to working together without expending a great deal of
time and energy excavating. It also offered a chance to leam what
might be expected from the buried features. The necessary period
of acclimatization to the site was accomplished quite rapidly.
During the process quite a bit of valuable comparative data was
collected.
The first buried feature investigated was the one uncovered by
the moving contractor (Feature 1 in Figure VIII) . A simple
cleaning of the exposed areas of the feature indicated that the
foundation was of relatively modern construction. The footings
were composed of a mixture of portland cement, sand, and crusher
run stone (see Figure V) . The stone was uniform in quality and
size and appeared machine-prepared. This mix was simply poured